History has told us something about our war dead but very little about our war wounded. Veterans with a Vision provides a vibrant, poignant, and very human history of Canada’s war-blinded veterans and of the organization they founded in 1922, the Sir Arthur Pearson Association of War Blinded. Serge Durflinger details the veterans’ process of civil re-establishment, physical and psychological rehabilitation, and social and personal coping and describes their public advocacy for government pension entitlements, job retraining, and other social programs. This book captures the spirit of perseverance that permeated the veterans’ community and highlights the accomplishments of the war blinded as advocates for all Canadian veterans and for all blind citizens.

Serge Marc Durflinger's profile page

Serge Marc Durflinger is an associate professor of history at the University of Ottawa. He is the author of Fighting from Home: The Second World War in Verdun, Quebec and co-editor of War and Society in Post-Confederation Canada.

Veterans with a Vision is a must read for historians interested in the social impact of war on Canadian society. It is well written, thoroughly researched, soundly organized, and poignantly relevant as Canada prepares to rehabilitate a new generation of veterans in the post-Afghanistan era.

Canadian Military History Journal

Durflinger successfully illustrates the important contributions made by war blinded veterans to the creation of national institutions and celebrates the men who achieved personal success in spite of their disability. In spite of minor reservations, Veterans with a Vision makes important contributions to the field of veterans’ studies, the development of the Canadian state, and will be a useful work for scholars of twentieth century Canada.

Historire sociale - Social History, Vol. XLV, No 89